Game Profile

In Ghosts 'n Goblins, Arthur the brave knight saved Princess PrinPrin from the Dark Prince, Lucifer, and drove his evil forces back into the Underworld. Now, something sinister is again stirring...monsters had returned to attacking the kingdom, and the luckless Princess has been kidnapped - for a dark ritual to raise a greater evil than Lucifer!

Now, Arthur must go forth to save his beloved Princess and destroy the root of all evil! And it won't matter whether he fights in his shining armor or in his underwear alone, the bravest Knight in the land isn't going to be stopped by some monsters! Although the game starts with graveyard and marsh territory familiar from the first game, later levels are set in a tower, a mass of skeletons, and a castle.

He will progress from left to right, and have to hack down the aforementioned monsters with his sword. The journey includes ledges, ladders, lava pits and slippery slopes. Different weapons can be collected, by finding suits of armour inside chests. Each of the five stages has its own setting and a final boss.

Game Review

Review

Arthur must go forth to save his beloved Princess and destroy the root of all evil!

When you look at this game today, it's hard to believe that it was one of the very first Megadrive releases. Sega did an amazing job of reprogramming the Capcom arcade original for their 16-bit console - the port isn't quite arcade perfect but you have to...

When I seen that they were now 41 coming soon games, instead of 40. I scoured all over finding what it was and I found this. I thought it surely must've been a mistake, since it was already out. But no, it's the MD version.

Is there any difference to the MD and the SNES versions of these games? Other than that the SNES one is better?

BTW, OT I know, but since i've already mentioned it. How come the Wii version of this site, is unable to read these messages? Don't let us post yeah, but let us read

this game was far superior to the "super ghouls and ghosts" game for snes. It was a little easier (as the snes game was near impossible). Honestly, I loved this game as a kid. It prably is the best ghosts n goblins game in the main series. Now, all we need is for them to release Demon's Crest and Gargoyles Quest 2 (the two console games of the gargoyle's quest spinoffs of the ghosts n' goblins series). The gargoyle's quest games were amazing and superior to these games in every respect. Those games had the dark atmosphere of Castlevania II "Simon's Quest", mixed with the towns and palaces of a game like Zelda II "The Adventures of Link" mixed with the amazing capcom level design of a game like Mega Man 2. Honestly, if they release Demon's Crest and Gargoyle's Quest 2 for VC, they would be 2 of the best games of the bunch...

OMFG, after really enjoying this game again and remembering why I liked it, I bought Ult GnG on the PSP, and it's horrible. They've totally ruined it turning it into some hybrid. It's more like an RPG now!

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Ghouls 'n Ghosts are two entirely different games, with different levels. G 'n G lets you shoot upwards while Super G 'n G has the double jump. If you want some good fun for a few dollars more, the GBA port of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts includes a new arrange mode where you can play some of the Ghouls 'n Ghosts levels with the Super G' n G weapons and the double jump. There's also a remake of the first level of Ghosts 'n Goblins in there.

Awesome! This is a really good arcade conversion of this, unlike Ghosts 'N Goblins for the NES was. Definitely download this when it's out. In the meantime, if you're interested, you could check out the arcade version of this on Capcom Classics Collection: Volume 1 on X-Box or PS2 (or CCC: Reloaded on PSP).

hey Deggs Super Ghouls n Ghosts for the SNES was not near impossible by any means. Dont get me wrong it was a tough game to complete but with a bit of practice, patience and trial and error i found that you could quite easily get through the game. What ruined the SNES version was having to play through it a second time with a rubbish weapon in order to get to the last boss. But i just used the cheat warp.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts feels much more like another direct sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins than to this. No shooting up/downwards, zombies in the graveyard... even the last boss is the same. I think it was named that way to make it look superior to the MD version, what I don't think it is by any means. Ah, the Sega vs Nintendo days...

Just dowloaded this today. I did complete it years ago on the megadrive, but more recently have completed the SNES version on my gameboy. Only when i got close to the end (specifically the climby up bit before you get to the final level, did i remember you had to do it all again), this being weeks after i started the damn thing. But i did persevere & finally defeated the fat git at the end (quite easily considering how difficult the game is as a whole). Forgot what my point was now!! Oh yes, whilst playing i seem to remember the megadrive version including totally different levels, like the lava eruptions & the great ice sliding sections. So can't wait to get stuck into this version again. peace

It's certainly not as good as Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, but that was to be expected. If you get one GnG title, then pick Super. However, if you liked Super you certainly won't go wrong by purchasing this one too. This game still holds a lot of the elements that made the sequel so good.

I think I figure out the rules for treasure chest's contents. The contents appears in sequence like this...

Code: Magician -> Armor/Weapon -> Weapon -> Armor/Weapon -> {repeat}

(1) If you already wearing a Golden Armor, weapon would appears instead of armor. (2) The sequence of the treasure chest is decided once it appears. You didn't need to open a box containing a Magician, all you need to do is to make it appears, so that you could open the next cheat. (3) For "Armor/Weapon" cheat, whether an Armor or weapon would appears is decided at the moment you open the chest, not the moment you make it appears. (4) If you die the sequence would be reset. (5) If you gone to the next stage, the sequence would be reset.

The weapon which would show up seems completely random. Confused

So if you already got the weapon you want and wearing the Golden Armor, it would be a good idea to not make any new chest appears. Since... (1) The chest might block your attack. (2) You might accidentally forced to pick up a weapon you don't want.

**************************

It seems like the rank of the game is decided by the weapon you got... For example, 1st half of Stage 2 is a lots harder if you got a Dagger, on the other hand it is quite manageable if you got a Lance instead. May be if I keep on using Lance, I might got further.... Confused

**************************

Still not figure out how to fight the Red Arremer at Stage 2. Confused I keep losing a life to him every time... Any hints?

I think I figure out the rules for treasure chest's contents. The contents appears in sequence like this...

Code: Magician -> Armor/Weapon -> Weapon -> Armor/Weapon -> {repeat}

(1) If you already wearing a Golden Armor, weapon would appears instead of armor. (2) The sequence of the treasure chest is decided once it appears. You didn't need to open a box containing a Magician, all you need to do is to make it appears, so that you could open the next cheat. (3) For "Armor/Weapon" cheat, whether an Armor or weapon would appears is decided at the moment you open the chest, not the moment you make it appears. (4) If you die the sequence would be reset. (5) If you gone to the next stage, the sequence would be reset.

The weapon which would show up seems completely random. Confused

So if you already got the weapon you want and wearing the Golden Armor, it would be a good idea to not make any new chest appears. Since... (1) The chest might block your attack. (2) You might accidentally forced to pick up a weapon you don't want.

**************************

It seems like the rank of the game is decided by the weapon you got... For example, 1st half of Stage 2 is a lots harder if you got a Dagger, on the other hand it is quite manageable if you got a Lance instead. May be if I keep on using Lance, I might got further.... Confused

**************************

Still not figure out how to fight the Red Arremer at Stage 2. Confused I keep losing a life to him every time... Any hints?

I really wish they will release the Pc-engine version, way better conversion than this (almost arcade perfect):for example the 2nd level in the Genesis version is horrible compared to the arcade. Super G'nG is nice but too damn hard, I like G'nG much.

PRP - you mean the PC Engine Super Grafx version, as G'n'G was never released on the standard PCE.

I think the chances of us getting Super Grafx games are pretty unlikely...and besides, the Megadrive version is a perfectly accurate port of the arcade, let's not get hung up on minor graphical differences.

@Damo: Yes I know that they are minor graphical differences, but I loved stage 2 with its backgounds, it was one of my favourite stage ever, and I was a little disappointed to see those windmills in 8-bit style. Call it nostalgia ; ) I agree with you that the megadrive version is an accurate port though.I'd like to know why is it really impossible to have Super Grafx games on the VC? After seeing PCE CD conversions reaching the VC I thought that I could hope for any Pcengine game to be released.

Perhaps it's just me, but the Genesis version of this game seems to play faster than the SNES one. Having played this version a great deal when I was younger, I almost felt I was running and attacking in slow motion with the SNES version. Nevertheless, both are still excellent and worth playing.

I played this before, but not on V.C but I assume it's the exact same thing. It sucked...hard. The difficulty was unhuman, and just unacceptable overall. I can't believe anyone could actually like garbage like this!

Note: I'm coming from the original arcade version. This one must be different, as I can't imagine anybody giving this game a perfect score.

I really do like a lot of things about this game. Moreso than its predecessor, its visuals and music are really memorable and stylish, and there's some quality stage design here. But without apology I say this every time it applies: It's an arcade port. It's designed to eat quarters.

Arthur moves clunky and slowly, while some enemies move quickly and oftentimes without a discernible pattern. He can take three hits at the very most. I can't even think of a game where the hero is so miserably disadvantaged against his opposition. Checkpoints are far apart, too, like the other games.

Some call this hard, I'm leaning towards lousy game design, as a lot of situations in the action don't have reliable ways out--again, thanks to slow/limited character movement with fast/agile enemies that can come in all sorts of directions and corner you.

I actually beat Ghosts 'n Goblins and made it to the final boss of this one, and couldn't figure out how to get to the "real" boss from the clues. This game really could have been more fun with a different main character, I think, as so much real creativity and inspiration are found in its other aspects--but it's wasted on Arthur, the poor sucker who's not up to this onslaught.

It's busted by a design choice. Forget about it. Or at least, do yourself a favor and don't blame yourself for your troubles here.

This game is pretty fun, considering that it gives you infinite continues one can bear the pain.Once it gets near the end when they throw multiple bosses into rooms together I just gave up though. Blast to play nonetheless.

Another reason why I grabbed this instead of Super GnG was because this is playable with the wiimote tilted instead of the classic controller, which was significant since I didn't have a classic controller when I bought this.

Hm. Maybe the pause-save feature would help. Having to play this game in one sitting is too much, to me. Difficulty aside, I just wanted to move on with life after hours of trying to crack the last level.

This will be a long post but I wanted to clear up some MISCONCEPTIONS and NONSENSE that some people have been writing about this version of the game and provide some detailed information about various versions of Ghouls 'N Ghosts.

SEGA's reprogrammed Ghouls 'N Ghosts for MegaDrive-Genesis released in 1989 is based on the 1988 arcade game DaiMakaimura / Ghouls 'N Ghosts. The original Capcom arcade game was powered by the CPS-1 (aka CP-System) arcade board, the same hardware that powered Forgotten Worlds, Strider, Final Fight and Street Fighter II, to name just a few.

As most people know (but not everyone it seems) the Super Famicom-SNES game, Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (aka ChoMakaimura) is a sequel, not based on the arcade Ghouls 'N Ghosts. Thus, Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts was never found in arcades, therefore it is not DIRECTLY comparable to the MegaDrive-Genesis or Wii VC version.

The NEC SuperGrafx version from 1990 is directly comparable to the MegaDrive-Genesis-Wii VC game, because the SuperGrafx DaiMakaimura / Ghouls 'N Ghosts is also a conversion of the 1988 arcade game.

Interestingly, the Japanese-only Sharp X68000 home computer got a 100% perfect port Ghouls 'N Ghosts and this home version puts the MegaDrive/Genesis/Wii VC and SuperGrafx versions to shame.

People who say that there are only MINOR graphical differences going from the ARCADE to the MegaDrive-Genesis and SuperGrafx versions, are so totally wrong, or just don't remember, or never really knew how significant the differences actually were. That is why I'm posting screens of a single area that had alot of detail to show the differences between the versions.

The CPS-1 Arcade ROM was 32 megabit size. The MD-Gen/Wii VC version is only 5 megabit size, slightly larger than the average 4 megabit games of 1989-1990, but still far short of the arcade.

The comparison below will give you some idea of the vast differences between the Arcade, MegaDrive-Genesis, and SuperGrafx versions. Most people do not realise just how much graphical detail & color was cut out of the MegaDrive-Genesis (and thus, the Wii VC) version. Notice that the only home version that is TRULY arcade-exact is the X68000 version, even though X68000 is not a console but a home computer.

Note that the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation got near-exact (99%) ports of Ghouls ' N Ghosts in 1998 on Capcom Generation 2 released in Japan. It was also out in the UK & Europe with all the Capcom Generation volumes on a single disc (i believe so, not 100% sure).

The 1998 PlayStation version of Ghouls 'N Ghosts from Capcom Generation 2 is the version that you get on Capcom Classics Collection for PS2, Xbox and PSP. This one specific port, across 4 platforms (PS1, PS2, Xbox, PSP) is very good, but has some problems, mainly the distant parallax backgrounds are very dim, so they're difficult to see. The Saturn version does not have this problem, however it does have other minor differences like screen resolution and the hues are slightly off. Otherwise the PS1 (and Saturn) ports are near arcade perfect.

Overall the very, very closest thus absolute BEST home version is the Sharp X68000 one, but most people do not have access to that, unless through an emulator. So then I would recommend getting the Saturn release of Capcom Generation 2. If you can't get that, then I'd say the Xbox or PS2 release of Capcom Classics Collection. Any of these arcade-quality ports will give you a very close-to-CPS1-arcade experience, unlike the significantly downgraded MegaDrive/Genesis/Wii VC and SuperGrafx conversions.

This one is a little less punishing than the other G&G games. You get unlimited continues, checkpoints near the bosses, and even (gasp!) upwards shooting to face all those ever-so-tricky monsters.

Still painfully hard, though. Obviously not for everyone. However, if you're looking for, or don't mind, some challenge in your games, you need to check this out. It is a well-designed game, regardless of the difficulty.

Apparently I'm the only one, but I think the Game Boy Advance Super GnG version is by far the best, having the whole SNES game along with levels from the Genesis and others in the Remix mode + cartridge save!